It’s official: Mauricio Pochettino is leaving the U.S. men’s national team.
On Friday, a day after Manchester United fired Michael Carrick, the 20-time English champions named Pochettino as his replacement, with the club currently in the Premier League relegation zone after winning just one of its first 10 matches to begin the season.
The 54-year-old Argentine will lead the Americans for two final games, on Saturday and Tuesday vs. Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals, before taking over the Red Devils in time for Sunday’s trip to rivals Liverpool.
Pochettino signed a contract extension with U.S. Soccer in August that runs through the 2030 World Cup, following the USA’s run to the round of 16 at the 2026 event. To get him out of that deal, United triggered a buyout clause reportedly worth nearly $10 million.
Pochettino’s assistant coaches, including longtime top deputy Jesus Perez, will follow him to Old Trafford.
“The club has reached an agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation for Mauricio and his staff to be released after the conclusion of their responsibilities with the U.S. Men’s National Team,” Manchester United said as part of their announcement, which said he’ll formally take over the Red Devils on Nov. 18.
In 35 games at the American helm, the former Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton manager posted a record of 21W-11L-2T. Three of those victories came at the 2026 World Cup, making Pochettino the winningest USA men’s coach at soccer’s marquee tournament. U.S. Soccer now needs a new coach for the 2030 cycle. Here are the top candidates to replace him.
“Mauricio has left a lasting mark on U.S. Soccer through his leadership, professionalism and commitment to our players and culture,” U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said in a press release. “He and his staff raised standards, strengthened our culture and created clearer connections from the youth national teams to the senior team. Those changes are now embedded in how we operate, and we will keep building on them as we pursue sustained success on the world stage.”
According to The Athletic, Pochettino would sign a 2.5-year deal that would run through summer 2029. There are details that are still being finalized but the deal would allow Pochettino to coach the U.S. in the next two games against Haiti before jetting off to Manchester.
And what would be Pochettino’s first game as Manchester United’s first coach? Ancient rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Nov. 22 on the other end of the current international break.
The first step in Pochettino potentially taking over at Old Trafford has been completed.
Michael Carrick was fired by Manchester United on Thursday after overseeing the 20-time English champion’s worst start to a Premier League season.
Carrick’s departure comes less than six months after he was given a two-year contract and the responsibility of reviving the fortunes of the once-dominant force of English soccer. United hasn’t won the league since managerial great Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
According to ESPN, Manchester United execs have informed U.S. Soccer that they intend to trigger the $10 million (£7m) release clause in Pochettino’s contract.
Pochettino is currently with the USMNT team at U.S. Soccer’s training center outside of Atlanta before opening their two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Haiti, with the first game set for Saturday in Miami. The second game will be next Tuesday in Cincinnati.
Pochettino is expected to remain with the U.S. players for these games regardless of what decision is made about the Man United vacancy.
Several USA players spoke highly about Pochettino after team training on Thursday.
“Poch has definitely raised the standard since he’s been in charge,” striker Folarin Balogun said Thursday, who led the U.S. with three goals in four World Cup appearances, including game-winners over Paraguay and Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The intensity of training, how we approach games — he’s changed our way of thinking as players.
“He’s laid the foundation,” Balogun continued. “I think we have the ownership as players to carry that on.”
Mauricio Pochettino is expected to lead the U.S. against Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals, even as Manchester United zero in on him as their next manager. (Photo by Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images)
Whatever happens with Manchester United, Pochettino is expected to remain on the U.S. sideline for at least two more matches.
Pochettino is in camp with the team at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, preparing for the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti on Saturday in Miami and Tuesday in Cincinnati. He’s expected to speak to the media Friday, per his usual pre-match routine.
United have not yet officially fired Carrick or made formal contact with U.S. Soccer about Pochettino’s contract. The club has the rest of the international break to finalize a replacement before returning to action at Liverpool on Nov. 22.
Pep Guardiola, who won six Premier League titles at Manchester City, is reportedly U.S. Soccer’s top target if Mauricio Pochettino leaves. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
If U.S. Soccer goes with an American, no one has a stronger case right now than B.J. Callaghan.
He led Nashville SC to a league-record point total in the MLS regular season and already has experience in charge of the U.S. men’s national team, guiding the team to the 2023 Concacaf Nations League title as interim coach.
The Nashville SC coach is coming off one of the greatest regular seasons in MLS history. Nashville went 23-3-8 in 2026 and finished with 77 points, breaking Inter Miami’s single-season record of 74 set in 2024.
Along the way, Callaghan’s team won the club’s first Supporters’ Shield, finished a record 13 points clear of the next-best team and set MLS records for wins, fewest losses (3) and fewest goals allowed (25). Nashville also reached the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals this year and became the first MLS team to win at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, beating Club América 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The turnaround has been remarkable. When Callaghan took over in July 2024, Nashville was in the middle of the worst season in its MLS history. Two years later, it’s one of the most dominant teams in the league.
Michael Bradley, a former U.S. captain with 151 caps, is in his first season as Red Bull New York’s head coach. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
If U.S. Soccer wants a coach who already knows the program’s next generation, Cherundolo is already working with it.
The federation hired Cherundolo in July to lead the U.S. under-23 team through the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, a role designed to work closely with the senior and youth national team staffs.
He’s currently overseeing the team’s first camp of the Olympic cycle in Spain, where the U-23s are facing Scotland and Ukraine. That makes him a natural successor to Pochettino, and he’d already have relationships with many of the young players expected to push for spots in 2030.
His coaching résumé also stands up. In four seasons at LAFC from 2022 to 2025, Cherundolo went 106-55-32 and never finished worse than third in the Western Conference. He won the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield in his first season and added the U.S. Open Cup in 2024.
Wilfried Nancy won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup with the Columbus Crew before a short stint at Celtic. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Martinez has experience managing teams on the international stage.
He coached Belgium from 2016 to 2022, guiding its golden generation to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, then took over Portugal in 2023.
He stepped down after Portugal’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the round of 16 at this summer’s World Cup, saying he came to win the tournament and saw no point in continuing after falling short. Before his international career, Martinez won the 2013 FA Cup with Wigan Athletic and managed Everton.
Now available, the 53-year-old Spaniard would bring proven international experience to a program looking to make a deep run in 2030.
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